History NightmareFuel / TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime

* Moblins appear in pretty much every game of the franchise, but as with the aforementioned Like Likes, they make their first 3D appearance here. These hulking beasts lurk around the corner mazes of the Sacred Forest Meadow, ready to charge at any unsuspecting victim with lightning speed to either knock them down or spear them (hence the bayonets they carry).[[note]]Even if you so much as peek around the corner and pull away as fast, they'll still attempt to ram you like they're spring-loaded, ready for action.[[/note]] Also of note that they're the only enemy in the game that Navi ''can't'' Z-target. And there's that ''[[HellIsThatNoise awful]]'' roar they bellow out once they spot you and the fact that your powerful Master Sword that's good enough to stop Ganon is '''useless''' against them. Even upon defeating all of them, you still have to face [[GiantMook the biggest one]], who's twice their size, has a massive club that will knock you flying back if it or one of its waves hits you, and whose trembles are so powerful that they [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou shake the screen!]] Fortunately, their appearances are limited, only being seen here and in the Adult Link version of the Spirit Temple in ''Master Quest''.

** As if coming out of the Temple of Time to see what has become of Hyrule wasn't horrifying enough, one of the first things you notice as an adult is that Hyrule Market--formerly a safe place to shop and talk to people--is now home to a ''horde of [=ReDeads=]''. What can make this even ''worse'' is that for people who aren't aware of what's really happened, it could appear that the [=ReDeads=] '''are all that remains of the townspeople!''' Thankfully, this isn't the case as they managed to escape to Kakariko Village, but it's still a horrifying thought!

** As if coming out of the Temple of Time to see what has become of Hyrule wasn't horrifying enough, one of the first things you notice as an adult is that Hyrule Market--formerly a safe place to shop and talk to people--is now home to a ''horde of [=ReDeads=]''.

*** Worth noting is that Fado’s earlier interactons with Link occurred while she thought he was one of the Kokiri. When he returns as an adult, as far as she knows he’s an outsider, and she treats him as such. Kind of adds a more [[TheFairFolk sinister]] dimension to the Kokiri…

** [[EnfanteTerrible Fado]] herself deserves mention. Not only is she a CreepyChild extraordinaire in that scene, the fact that she's so very normal at the beginning of the game before all hell breaks loose makes you wonder what the hell happened to her...

* Volvagia itself (being a fire-breathing dragon) is scary enough, but it's said that not only does Ganondorf plan to feed all the Gorons to it, but after that, it's going to turn all of Hyrule into a burning wasteland! Ganondorf effectively resurrected a WMD.
** Then if that wasn't bad enough, Volvagia's head crashes right next to Link, wheezes for a few seconds, before finally burning up and leaving a Heart Container behind. The manga adaptation for the game ramps this up to a FridgeHorror by having Volvagia be a dragon Link [[ShootTheDog once had and was forced to slay after Ganondorf turned it into a killer feral beast]]. Those last wheezes are it [[TearJerker mournfully gasping, "Link... Link..."]]

** The 3DS version adds a little detail to the fight. Far away from the boss room, scattered across Jabu-Jabu's innards, there are three Parasitic Tentacles, colored red, green, and blue, which you have to defeat to progress. You see three parts of these tentacles; the top, the middle, and the base. The invulnerable middles of each tentacle block off a part of the dungeon. The vulnerable ends of the tentacles dangle from the ceilings of three separate rooms; once defeated, their middles wither away. But what of the tentacles' bases? You wouldn't know it in the N64 version, where they're colored the same fleshy pink as Barinade's body... but the bases of each Parasitic Tentacle are the very tentacles that attach Barinade to the ceiling. In the 3DS version, ''they're red, green, and blue.'' Just one little detail changed to let us know that Barinade isn't just sucking the life out of Jabu Jabu from one comfy spot, like an engorged tick--the hideous thing has tunneled its own hungry flesh through ''kilometers'' of the dying god's insides.

** On the plus side, it's NightmareRetardant as well, since it doesn't really attack you; it just stays in place, waiting for you to slaughter it and collect its carapace.

** What makes this even more terrifying is that when Link takes damage, Zelda will scream out loud from afar.

* That one [=ReDead=] by the door as you escape Ganon's Castle. It's the sole [=ReDead=] in the game which isn't stunned with the Sun's Song, and is placed just right so careless people will have to run straight past it. It has the dubious honor of being the very last enemy you face before the final boss.

* Though the SurpriseCreepy shock of it has lessened since ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', it is still possible to trigger the Happy Mask Salesman's fury and get a flash of RedEyesTakeWarning if you fail to properly compensate him after selling one of his masks. Needless to say, any kid who saw that is likely to turn around and collect his remaining rupees as fast as they can.

** The worst part about it all? It has a straightforward layout, unlike most of the other dungeons in the game. This on its own wouldn't be so bad, except it goes deeper and deeper into the ground. And the further down you go, the more it feels like you're descending into Hell itself. The entrance to the final dungeon reinforces this with a ride on a boat, invoking the "ferry-to-the-underworld" style myths.

** One of the things the skulls say to you if you get close enough is "Shadow Temple... here lies Hyrule's blood-stained history of greed and hatred...", implying that at some point before this game, the Shadow Temple was a very active and grisly dungeon/jail/torture emporium.

* [[HumanoidAbomination Dead Hand]] is one of the scariest bosses in the entire Zelda franchise. Fittingly enough, it serves as the boss for the [[SceneryGorn torture chamber/burial ground-themed]] Bottom of the Well. It remains hidden underground until some poor sap ends up being caught by one of the [[WhiteAndRedAndEerieAllOver pale, blood-soaked]] CreepilyLongArms dotted around the chamber in which it resides, after which it emerges from the ground while groaning, and it becomes a race to free Link before the creature can take a bite out of the hero.
** Think the nightmare is over once you kill it at the Bottom of the Well? Think again, as it shows up later as a mini-boss in the Shadow Temple, guarding the Hover Boots. And heaven forbid if you're playing the Master Quest, as one of the changes it brings to the Shadow Temple is replacing an invisible Floormaster with a ''second Dead Hand'', though this one is missing its hands. Doesn't make it any less spooky, though.
*** Speaking of the Master Quest, in the remixed water barrier room of [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Ganon's Castle]], there's a lone Dead Hand... [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment hand]] in the room. [[ParanoiaFuel But there's no actual Dead Hand.]] Going in there without this information would likely result in ''incredible'' paranoia as to where the actual Dead Hand is, but no, [[NothingIsScarier it's nowhere to be seen]], and the hand is just there to indicate where a hidden switch is.
** The main body of the creature itself has the same pale and blood-soaked texture as its many hands, alongside an unnaturally long neck, [[EyeScream seemingly no eyes]], and an overly large set of teeth. For added horror, a [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda_gamepedia_en/images/9/90/OoT3D_Dead_Hand_Model.png/revision/latest?cb=20200601165036 closer look at its 3D model]] reveals that the hands on its main body have [[{{Fingore}} pointed bloodied stumps in place of fingers]].

* If you check the back alley of the Castle Town before you get the Master Sword but after Ganondorf chased after Zelda, you'll also find one of Zelda's royal guard [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWNGI87ptq4 mortally wounded]]. Turns out that Impa ran with Zelda in an impromptu escape, and Ganondorf and his loyal men promptly killed anyone standing in their way. [[KilledOffForReal Then the guard gasps his last breath]] after telling Link to hurry to the Temple of Time, showing the second on-screen death besides the Great Deku Tree as checking him afterwards has Navi remark that "he's not moving anymore." What's worse is that if you come back here at any other time or miss this opportunity, the body's gone but the populace seem none the wiser.
* Death Mountain's whole "Raining a ''volcano'' on top of you" segment, especially since there's no real build-up to it -- one second, you're leisurely climbing up the mountain, the very next, the sky turns blood-red, the ground shakes, and giant rocks are falling on your head (the section is programmed so rocks will always fall on your head no matter what you do). And if you didn't get the hint earlier and buy a flame-resistant Hylian Shield, you're screwed.
* The Golden Skulltula. If you're near one, it will always make that horrible scratching noise, [[ParanoiaFuel even if you can't see it]]. ''However'', if you happen to be in just the wrong spot at nightfall, say the ladder in Zora's River, when they come out to hunt... it can [[JumpScare spawn right where you are]] and knock you away. Worse, if you crash into a tree with a Gold Skulltula and jostle it out while unknowingly standing below the area it will land, it can '''pounce on you''' from above!
** On the plus side, it's NightmareRetardant as well, since it doesn't really attack you; it just stays in place, waiting for you to slaughter it and collect its carapace.

** The boss of the dungeon, Bongo Bongo. It resembles a dismembered, decapitated giant man with a plated spine hanging down from the ceiling, with severed-looking floating hands and a flowerlike neck stump housing a large alien eyeball. Even if it is just an abstract evil spirit, it definitely evokes the themes of torture and execution in the depths of the temple. Even worse, its body is invisible for most of the fight without the Lens of Truth, and it perpetually beats on the drum that is the boss arena in a spooky ceremonial fashion.
** Bongo Bongo's... vocal... noise... [[http://noproblo.dayjo.org/ZeldaSounds/OOT/OOT_BongoBongo_Murmur.wav is the single creepiest thing outside of the ReDeads]]. It almost sounds like "I want to die"...

* Gohma's first impression on the player, being not only the first boss, but a giant parasitic insect.
** The lead-up to the fight is no better. You head into the boss room, the door abruptly slams shut behind you, everything goes dark, and you hear a horrible scraping noise seemingly coming from everywhere. At this point, you're supposed to look up, but plenty of gamers didn't figure that out right away, leading them to spin around trying to find the unseen horror that was about to leap out at them.

* The leadup and aftermath to the fight against Dark Link can be described as surreal horror in boss form. When you first enter, you step into a room with no walls, but rather a long stretch of fog and water as far as the eye can see. Your shadow is seen following you as you walk through the water; however, when you step on the sand surrounding the tree and walk away, your shadow is gone and is now standing under the tree staring right at you with its red eyes. After the fight, Dark Link vanishes with a yell, and it's revealed that the entire room was an illusion. You were standing in a normal empty room the entire time. Furthermore, this battle comes right out of nowhere and is [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment never mentioned again or elaborated on]]. It's disturbing in how subtle it all is -- no jumpscares, no in-your-face creepy imagery, just pure MindScrew all around.

* Volvagia's death: It flies around the Boss room, writhing in pain, and ultimately ''burns off its own flesh'' (or its flesh burns away as a result of Ganondorf's revival spell being broken), revealing its skeleton. ''Creepy!'' The battle itself isn't a picnic, either, considering that Volvagia routinely attempts to ''bring the roof of the Fire Temple down on your head'', something not seen in any other boss battle up to this point.
* Volvagia itself (being a fire-breathing dragon) is scary enough, but it's said that not only does Ganondorf plan to feed all the Gorons to it, but after that, it's going to turn all of Hyrule into a burning wasteland! Ganondorf effectively resurrected a WMD.
** Then if that wasn't bad enough, Volvagia's head crashes right next to Link, wheezes for a few seconds, before finally burning up and leaving a Heart Container behind. The manga adaptation for the game ramps this up to a FridgeHorror by having Volvagia be a dragon Link [[ShootTheDog once had and was forced to slay after Ganondorf turned it into a killer feral beast]]. Those last wheezes are it [[TearJerker mournfully gasping, "Link... Link..."]]
** The other enemies found in the Fire Temple, while relatively easy to defeat, don't skimp on the creepiness. The Flare Dancer has an EvilLaugh to match its sentient bomb center, which growls out ''"Uh-OH!"'' if you catch it and expands and explodes upon defeating it. Meanwhile, the Torch Slug's slithering sounds ''identical'' to the Like Likes, and since both are abundant in the temple (especially in the Master Quest version), you're never certain which one will be encountered.
* The Great Deku Tree's death, in which he ''withers''. For better or for worse, it's toned down in the 3DS remake.
** The resulting loss of protection shows seven years later: When you come back to Kokiri Forest as an adult but before completing the Forest Temple, it's filled with monsters! No wonder [[InUniverse all the Kokiri are huddling in their homes scared out of their minds]]. Fortunately, it gets better after you clear the Forest Temple and the Deku Tree Sprout emerges to purify the forest once again.

* Barinade, the boss of [[WombLevel Jabu-Jabu's Belly]], is an extremely loathsome and disturbing creature. It's an [[ShockAndAwe electric]], pulsating anemone-like parasite with obnoxious veins and tentacles all over its body. It hangs in the "ceiling" of Jabu-Jabu's insides, slowly and painfully draining the deity of his LifeEnergy. Thanks to Barinade’s veins, pink coloring, and the way it’s attached to the deity, [[EvilIsVisceral the parasite closely resembles a giant heart or some other kind of organ]], tricking many players into thinking they were fighting Jabu-Jabu’s own innards. Additionally, the parasite surrounds itself with several ElectricJellyfish, which can give Link a nasty shock if he comes too close. The first part of the battle includes cutting off three of Barinade's tentacles to detach it from its host, and while it's completely necessary in order to save Jabu-Jabu, [[NauseaFuel it's quite stomach-turning]], and the severed tentacles drip green sludge afterwards. After that, the creature (whose seemingly only purpose is to stay attached to its host) starts to wildly spin around in the chamber in a nasty way. If you manage to hit and stun it, it will for some reason ''sink deep into the ground'' ([[BodyHorror remember, this is inside a living creature]]). And topping off all this nastiness is its [[SarcasmMode graceful]] death animation; [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath it develops ulcers all over its body, then explodes into green goo, leaving chunks of flesh on the floor]].
** The 3DS version adds a little detail to the fight. Far away from the boss room, scattered across Jabu-Jabu's innards, there are three Parasitic Tentacles, colored red, green, and blue, which you have to defeat to progress. You see three parts of these tentacles; the top, the middle, and the base. The invulnerable middles of each tentacle block off a part of the dungeon. The vulnerable ends of the tentacles dangle from the ceilings of three separate rooms; once defeated, their middles wither away. But what of the tentacles' bases? You wouldn't know it in the N64 version, where they're colored the same fleshy pink as Barinade's body... but the bases of each Parasitic Tentacle are the very tentacles that attach Barinade to the ceiling. In the 3DS version, ''they're red, green, and blue.'' Just one little detail changed to let us know that Barinade isn't just sucking the life out of Jabu Jabu from one comfy spot, like an engorged tick--the hideous thing has tunneled its own hungry flesh through ''kilometers'' of the dying god's insides.

* King Dodongo's death after its boss battle; it stumbles and falls into the lava pit in the middle of the room and is incinerated, complete with its body visibly twitching as it dies. Part of its charred face and foot are still sticking out of the now-solid floor afterwards, too.